Hope
by The-Woman-In-White
Summary: Bella's always the fifth wheel, her best friends both have boyfriends. When she meets a handsome stranger she gets hope, but then she finds out he's not single. AH
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I turned off the lights and locked the door. With a sigh, I looked up to the hotel. I knew that one day I would be the manager of this hotel, and I hoped that it wouldn't take long before that would happen. But for now I had to be content with working behind the desk. I admit that it could get very boring when you spent the entire day behind the desk, and the only people checking in are business-people or couples that decided to have a 'romantic' weekend. Countless of times I had to listen to the bickering of the couples as they left after only one day. It seemed as though it was hard for the people to spend a weekend away and to just have fun. They always left just as stressed out as they came in, not relaxed in any way.

I wasn't stressed, although I wouldn't mind a vacation. I invested a lot of my time in the hotel, while my colleagues always had something to do on a busy day, so they couldn't help. My boss didn't mind, because I did their work. Not that I wanted to do that, but it had to be done and I kept reminding myself that I would get a raise and they wouldn't. And my best friends supported me, just like I supported them.

Alice and Rosalie were the best friends anyone could wish for. Since I didn't care that much about fashion, they always helped me out when I had a date or a business meeting. Not that I had either of these things that often. There didn't seem to be that many interesting guys in Forks, where I lived. Alice and Rosalie would always find guys they thought I would like, but it never turned out the way they thought it would. I didn't think I had such a specific taste in men, but it was hard to find an appropriate one. And then there always seemed to be a major flaw in that one appropriate man I would find.

So dating wasn't really a big part of my life, but spending time with Alice and Rosalie was. They usually took me shopping, never listening to my complains. They told me to bear with them, because I needed clothes. The first time I believed them, I really thought I needed new clothes. But now my closet was so full of clothes, hardly used, that I usually gave them a stern look when my friends told me that. I didn't see why I needed so many clothes, most of them not even suitable for work. But Alice always knew a way to convince me to go shopping with them. And when I would come home with quite a lot of shopping bags in my hands, I would just sigh and try to put them somewhere – anywhere – in my room.

A soft, but cold breeze shook me out of my reverie. I started shivering and I wrapped my coat a bit tighter around me. The one lamp-post that was on the parking-lot was almost broken. It would flicker on and off a few times and then turn completely off, after a few seconds it would turn on again and then the whole thing would repeat itself again. I squinted my eyes and saw my truck in the shadow, looking as old as it was. I unlocked the car and got in.

The first thing I did after putting the key in the ignition was turning the heater on. It was a cold February evening and I couldn't wait to get home. The ride home was silent, because my radio was broken. I would have to ask Rosalie to fix it, or if she couldn't fix it, I would have to buy a new one. As if I had the money for that. But I trusted Rosalie's skills, she was better than a lot of men in fixing cars.

As I had to stop for a traffic light, I noticed that there was a new bookshop. I knew it had only been there for a short amount of time, because I would have noticed it before if it had been there longer. Before this bookshop came here, the building had stood empty for several years – I don't remember it otherwise.

There was still a light burning inside, so I decided to take a look and maybe get to know the owner a bit. I turned right and parked before the store. After locking the car, I hesitantly rang the old doorbell that hang just above the door. After waiting for a while, I assumed that the light was left on accidentally and started walking away. But then I heard the lock on the door open. I turned around and was met with an older man, who looked very nice. He smiled kindly and invited me in.

"What brings you here, young lady?" he asked me after he pointed to a few chairs that were almost entirely hidden behind a bookcase.

"Well,' I started explaining, 'I noticed this bookstore when I was returning home from work. I work in the hotel, you see. And I was curious, because I'm very fond of reading. So that's why I ended up ringing your doorbell. For which I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."

He chuckled and shook his head. "It's no trouble at all, I'm glad to meet a nice person in this town. It has been a long day, filled with unpacking all these boxes, " he said whilst pointing to some empty boxes in the corner of the room. "So it's nice to have a little variety." He chuckled. We were now sitting on the chairs and he handed me a cup of coffee. I happily took it from him and started sipping.

After we talked for a while he told me that I could look for some nice books in the bookcase. I had already finished my coffee and immediately started searching for anything nice. An hour later I sat on the floor with books all around me. Just as I started reading the backside of the book, Mr. Brown, as he told me his name was, told me he needed to lock the place up and if I would mind coming back another time.

"Of course not. Can I buy these books now or should I come back when the shop is formally opened?" I asked, as I got up and collected the books in my arms. He looked at the books in my arms and told me that I could buy them now, and that he would give me some discount because I had been so nice to stop by. I thanked him and paid for the books.

After we said goodbye I walked towards my truck and tried to unlock the door whilst holding the enormous amount of books in one hand. Just as the key went in the lock, all the books fell on the floor. I started picking them up when I noticed a hand holding two books. They were a bit wet but other than that undamaged. I grabbed them and quickly put all the books in the passenger-seat.

When I'd done that, I turned to the man that helped me. I was a bit shocked when I looked him in the eyes, because I'd never seen more beautiful eyes in my entire life. They were a brilliant green and they were smouldering. I felt a blush creep up my face as a stammered a thank you. Then I noticed the rest of his face. He had messy bronze hair, a perfectly featured face and a breathtaking smile on his face. I quickly looked him in the eyes again before he would catch me staring.

"You're welcome," he said in a soft, velvet voice. He turned around and I watched him walk away. When I opened the door of my car, I noticed that my hands were a bit shaky. I shook it off and started the car. My blush slowly faded away and the fog in my mind seemed to fade away with it. I could think clearly again and immediately started hoping to encounter him again in the near future.

When I entered the parking-lot that belonged to the building I lived in, I started thinking about what I should tell Alice. I lived together with Alice in an apartment, which we could barely afford. She would probably be worried, since I would be home a few hours after I normally got home, and I hadn't answered the phone because the battery was empty. I hoped she wouldn't be too freaked out by worry, but I know I would have been. Forks wasn't a big city, but there could easily have something happened to me.

The moment I unlocked the door and walked in Alice screamed and ran to me so she could hug me. I let her have her moment and hugged her back. After she was done, she gave me a look that told me that I would have to explain everything. So I pointed to the couch and started telling about the new bookstore and the guy I met. She seemed most interested in the guy, which I couldn't blame her. She probably thought that there was finally someone I could date. But I wasn't so sure, maybe he didn't live here. And if he did, he was way out of my league. Alice knew I was thinking this, so she started to convince me otherwise. I quickly cut her off and told her I was tired. She let it go and I walked to my bedroom. After taking a quick shower and brushing my teeth, I went to bed.

"Goodnight Alice!" I called at no particular direction.

"Goodnight!" I heard her call back.

* * *

**Please review and tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The next morning I decided to get some coffee at the small restaurant that was just on my route to the hotel. After making some breakfast for me and Alice, and eating my share, I got in my car and went to the restaurant.

The owner of the restaurant knew me – I came here often for some coffee – and greeted me.

"Good morning, Mrs Lewis," I greeted back politely. I sat down at a small table and gave the waitress my order. I saw my colleague drinking some tea at a table not very far from where I sat. When she looked up and saw me, I gave her a small wave. I noticed the look of disdain in her eyes before she hid it and gave me a fake smile. I rolled my eyes when she wasn't looking anymore and continued drinking my coffee.

Jessica Stanley – she only worked at the hotel because she thought that she would meet a lot of cute guys that way, which didn't happen – hated my guts for no apparent reason and tried to get the promotion she knew I wanted. Only she didn't try to earn it, she tried to flirt with the boss. Our boss wasn't that old, but I thought too old for me or Jessica. But she tried nevertheless. He knew what she was doing, and would never give her the raise, but he still liked the attention she gave him, so he let her do what she thought was bugging me. Well, it was bugging me, but not for the reason she thought it was. I just thought it was unprofessional, and frankly, a bit annoying.

After finishing my coffee, I paid and went to the hotel. My boss was just turning on the light outside of the hotel and saw me coming. We entered the hotel together, talking about some minor troubles with the people that cleaned the lobby. He appreciated the solution I gave and he let me handle it. I took my spot behind the desk, after arranging the time schedule with the cleaners, which was the minor trouble the boss and I were discussing.

I knew that most people that were staying in the hotel were still sleeping, and the new guests wouldn't be arriving until later this day. I grabbed my book from my desk and continued reading. I was so absorbed in my book, that I didn't notice someone standing in front of my desk before he cleared his throat.

I looked up and saw that it was the man that helped me pick up my books yesterday. My heart began to beat faster, but I tried to remain calm and professional.

"Good morning, can I help you with anything Mr…" I paused to let him fill in.

"Masen, Edward Masen." He told me smiling. "And yes, I would like to check in." I nodded and filled the name 'Masen' in in the compute-record. As I was searching his name in the record, I heard a nasal voice.

"There you are Edward, I thought we would meet outside." I told Edward that the room he booked was ready, while trying not to pay attention to the blonde girl hanging on his arm, but I couldn't help it and looked at her.

She had long, curly blonde hair and big blue eyes. There was something about her that made me feel she wasn't very intelligent. Edward thanked me and smiled a bit apologetically at me. They got in the elevator and I slouched back in my chair. After a few minutes I sat up straight again, in case a guest would walk in, and checked the bookings to see if everything was right.

After doing that for half an hour, more people starting checking in and out. I had my hands full and was exhausted after three hours of listening to people's stories about their trip or how the room wasn't fully agreeable.

I happily returned home – I decided not to go the the bookstore today – and asked Alice if she wanted to go out and grab a meal with Rosalie. She was immediately excited and called Rosalie.

Fifteen minutes later, Rosalie rang the bell. She looked absolutely gorgeous, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders and her eyes sparkling. She beamed confidence and wore a dress that complimented her figure. Alice wore a short but classy black dress and made her normally spiky black hair straight. Alice had given me a dark-blue dress and I absolutely loved it. My dark-brown hair was curled and Alice did my make-up, so my brown eyes stood out.

We left in Rosalie's car and drove straight to our favourite Italian restaurant. We all loved the food here and the service was nice too. After ordering our food and receiving our drinks, Alice turned to me with an evil glint in her eyes. I was wondering what she was going to do and prepared for the worst.

"So Rosalie, have you heard that Bella met a gorgeous stranger yesterday?" Alice told Rosalie innocently. I should have know she would start about this.

"Really Bella? Well, that's about time isn't it?" Rosalie said, while smiling at me.

"It is, but I'll have to disappoint you. He has a girlfriend. They checked in this afternoon and it was very clear they were together." I couldn't help but sound a bit disappointed myself. They both gave me sympathetic smile and told me I would find someone soon enough. They wanted me to be happy with an amazing guy, just like they were.

Rosalie was dating Emmett. He was huge, really huge. I would be scared of him if I didn't know him, because on the inside he was a big teddy bear. Very sweet, but he also liked to joke around a lot. Usually about me and my clumsiness.

Alice was dating Jasper, he was more silent. When she first introduced him to us, I thought he was shy, but now I know that isn't true. When he warmed up to us he started goofing around with Emmett and being a good friend to Rosalie and me. Alice and Rosalie both deserved such nice boyfriends, and I hoped that I did too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Bella, you really need to wake up now, otherwise you're going to be late," I heard Alice's voice say in my ear. I opened my eyes and looked at my digital clock. My eyes got big and I jumped out of bed. "I just woke up too, so why won't you take a shower and I will make breakfast," she said. I agreed and thanked her, while grabbing clothes and turning on the shower.

Only fifteen minutes later I was in my car, nearing the hotel. I locked my car and started speed-walking towards the entrance. Just as I walked in, a very angry girl walked out of the elevator. I quickly recognized her as the girl Edward was with. She had a livid look in her eyes and when she noticed me in the lobby, she glared at me and stormed away. I watched her getting in an expensive looking car that immediately raced away the second she got in. I stared amazed at the place where the car had just been a few seconds ago and then walked towards my desk.

Some people came checking out and just as I finished that, I saw a very helpless Edward coming out of the elevator. He looked around the lobby and gave me a small smile when he noticed me. After looking at the lobby one more time, he came walking towards me.

"Have you seen Tanya in the lobby this morning?" he asked me. I wondered if the girl that was with him was Tanya, but I assumed it was.

"If you mean the girl you checked in with yesterday, then yes, I have seen her."

He looked a bit impatient, "Did she look mad?" He seemed genuinely upset about making her mad, and that made me like him even more. He was not just the kind of guy that hooked up with a girl and dumps her the next day.

"She looked very mad, she stormed through the lobby and got in a car." I told him. He looked even more distressed and thanked me. He started walking away, but turned around and came to me again.

"I would like to check out, if that's possible." He said a bit hasty.

"Of course." I heard that I sounded disappointed, but hoped that he hadn't heard it. He smiled apologetically, he had heard. After checking him out, he immediately left. Just one more couple that didn't make it through the weekend together.

Ever since Edward left the hotel, I didn't see him again. Rose and Alice tried to cheer me up, but I wasn't really that down. I had found him attractive, but besides that, there hadn't been anything going on. So I wasn't emotionally attached to him in any way. But Rose and Alice were convinced that I was sad, so they planned a shopping trip to cheer me up. They mostly did it, though, because there was a party in a few weeks.

Apparently there was a rich doctor in Forks that got married and they wanted to celebrate it through giving a party. Rosalie and Alice's parents are quite rich and knew this Dr Cullen, and because their parents were invited, they were invited. And they choose to bring me along, which I appreciated. I didn't really like parties, but this one didn't seem that bad. And Rose and Alice were happy, because they could take me shopping and buy dresses. It was a formal party, so we wanted to buy long, classy dresses. This thrilled them only more, and I was actually quite excited to go look for a beautiful dress.

I was pulled out of my dream when I felt someone on my bed. Alice, I assumed, jumped up and down on my bed. When I didn't open my eyes, she started singing very loudly. I opened one eye and threw a pillow at her face. It hit her and she gave me a glare. She sighed and pulled my blanket off my body. I immediately sat up straight and glared back at her.

"All right, all right, I'm up. What's getting you all riled up so early in the morning?" I asked while still glaring at her. She just smiled innocently.

"We're going shopping," she said calmly, while walking out of my room. I knew I had to go, but I wanted nothing more than to just stay in bed all day. But I eventually got up and took a long shower. After eating something, I was put in a outfit Alice chose for me and dragged to her car.

While driving to Rosalie, Alice was so excited, that she was almost jumping up and down on her seat. I tried to remind her to drive slowly or to just sit still and concentrate on driving. But she just waved my precautions away and sped up a bit. My hands unconsciously grabbed the seat and my eyes darted across the road ahead of us.

We arrived at Rosalie and Alice honked. Rosalie immediately came out of her apartment and descended the stairs. While getting in the backseat of the car, Rosalie started talking to Alice about her ideas for her dress. They got in a serious conversation about dresses and I just tuned out. I looked out of the window, waved at Mr Brown as we passed the bookstore and looked at the things we drove past. Suddenly I spotted a very familiar shade of hair on the sidewalk. My eyes concentrated on that particular spot and I made out the form of Edward Masen. Just before he was out of sight, he looked up and we had eye-contact.

From what I had seen, he hadn't looked very happy. He had his head down and hands in his pockets. I had no idea why he was sad and wanted to talk to him, but my evil friends were still talking about god knows what and we were nearing the mall.

The second Alice parked the car, Rose and Alice flew out of the car and Rose opened my door and yanked me out. They were each holding one of my arms and pulling me towards the entrance of the mall. I had no idea why they had such haste, but apparently they were planning on using every second wisely.

We entered the first shop and they both went their own direction. I looked around the shop and noticed a rack with some beautiful coloured clothes. As I got closer I saw that they were dresses. Rose and Alice quickly made their way to the rack, just as I got there. They had probably seen me and noticed the rack.

We all started looking through the dresses, trying to find something. I saw a midnight blue dress that would come to the knees, it was very beautiful. But I thought it would look much better on Alice than on me or Rose, so I gave her the dress and encouraged her to go try it on. When she came out, both Rose and I gasped. She look gorgeous, and beamed happiness. Rose and I told her to buy this one and we all started looking through the dresses again. I didn't find anything and looked over to Rose. With my eyes I questioned her, but she shook her head.

We walked towards the next shop, discussing what kind of shoes Alice should wear with her dress. As soon as I walked in, I spotted it. On a mannequin was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. It was silver and the sweetheart neckline was covered in little diamonds, just as the thin straps. De fabric was knotted together on the right hip with a little diamond circle. I walked towards it, not noticing if Rose and Alice were following me and I asked the shop-assistant if I could try it on. She gave me a fake smile and gave me the dress. I looked around me and saw Rose and Alice looking at me and giving their thumbs up. I smiled back and walked towards the changing room.

When I put it on, I walked out of the changing room and was met by two stunned girls. Alice and Rose looked at me and after a few seconds told me that this was the one. I smiled and looked back in the mirror. I thought that I really looked beautiful in this dress and returned to the changing room. We bought the dress, well, Alice did. She refused to let me pay, even though I told her that I didn't want her to spend money on me. Although she is rich, I thought I should pay for these things myself. But I was very thankful she paid.

The next store wasn't really what we were searching for and after a few minutes we left. I hoped that we would find a perfect dress for Rose, but I was almost entirely sure we would. Any dress would look amazing on her, so it shouldn't be that hard. We walked to a very fancy looking store, were there was a women standing near the entrance to smile at us. I don't know if it was supposed to be something that belongs in a fancy store, but it kind of creeped me out. After looking for a while I heard Rosalie.

"I found it!" she called towards us. The women that had greeted us glared at Rose, but quickly changed her composure when a new client walked in. We went to the changing room and waited for Rose to show us the dress.

When she walked out, I had my second stunned moment that day. Rose looked just as beautiful as Alice did in her dress. It was a strapless, dark red and form fitting dress. It could have looked slutty on anyone, but on Rose it looked classy and beautiful. I knew the party was in three weeks and I was actually looking forward to this party. I wanted to meet Dr Cullen and his wife, they seemed nice from what I had heard.

Rose drove us home and stayed with us. We held a girls-night and watched cheesy movies. After a while I noticed that Rose and Alice were both asleep and I turned the movie off and turned so I lay comfortable on the couch. Soon I fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

I noticed something against my face and opened my eyes. I saw a foot in front of me and I jerked backwards. Because of my sudden movement, my blanket fell right on top of Rose, who was sleeping on the floor.

"Wh... mmh.. .what?" she mumbled. I giggled and dropped my pillow on her face. She sat up and glared at me, only it didn't look that scary. Her hair was a mess and her make-up was smudged. Alice, whose foot I had just seen in front of my face, was still asleep and softly snoring. I put my finger to my lips when Rose looked at me, so she understood to be silent, and I crawled towards Alice. When I saw that she was still asleep I started tickling her in her stomach and she began to squirm and laugh.

"You.. are... dead!" she screamed between her laughing fits. I jumped up and started running around the living room. She jumped up too and started following me while laughing deviously. I tripped, unsurprisingly, and fell on top off a blanket. Alice sat on my back and tickled my side. I started to squirm uncontrollably and laughing. I pushed her off me and asked for a truce. She laughed and agreed. We both looked at each other and then at Rose. Rose looked confused for a second and then started slowly backing away. "You guys wouldn't dare…"she said, warningly.

"Oh, but we would!" As soon as Alice had said that, we started running towards Rosalie and started tickling her.

The rest of that day we spent inside our apartment, having fun. But Rose eventually left and Alice decided to go sleep a bit. I wasn't tired at all and got dressed. I ate something and wrote a note to Alice saying that I was away for a few hours. I didn't really know what to do, but decided to look if the bookstore was open on Saturdays.

As I drove by the store, I was relieved to see it was open. I had not yet finished all the books I took last time, but I hadn't seen Mr Brown in a long time and thought he might like it if I would drop by. He obviously was happy to see, because a smile spread across his face when he same me enter.

"Good morning Mr Brown, I'm glad to see you. Anything new?" I asked him while walking to the bookcase with the novels.

"Well, we do have some new copies of the entire Jane Austen collection, but I suspect you have read every novel of her." I smiled and nodded. After looking for half an hour, I bought one book and said goodbye to Mr Brown. I walked out onto the street without having the faintest idea about what to do. I started to just walk, greeting the people I recognized. Soon I saw the park in the distance and walked towards it. Beneath a enormous tree was a small, deserted bench. I sat down and begin thinking about everything while looking at the people passing by.

After closing my eyes for a few seconds, I opened them and saw Edward standing in front of me. He gave me a crooked smile.

"Would it be okay if I sat there?" he asked while pointing at the empty spot next to me.

"Sure." I smiled at him and watched him sit down. He looked me in the eyes for a few seconds before looking ahead of him. I took the time to study him a bit. He looked as beautiful as the night I met him, but there was something off about him. He looked a bit tired. I hoped everything was all right between him and Tanya. Well, I didn't hope that, but told myself I did.

"Is everything all right?" I asked him. He turned his head to look at me.

"Everything is fine," he told me and smiled at me. I nodded and looked at a young girl passing us. She hold two flowers and noticed us. She giggled a bit and walked towards Edward. She gave him one flower and blushed. Then she looked at me and I winked at her. Edward thanked her and gave her a small kiss on her forehead. She beamed at him and then at me, and she walked away. We both watched her walk away smiling and then looked at each other.

Edward looked down at the flower and gave it to me. This time I thanked him and gave him a kiss on his cheek. When I realised what I did, I blushed and looked away.

"Bella," he whispered. I realised that I never told him my name, but he had probably looked at my name tag in the hotel. We didn't know each other at all, actually.

"Edward, I was wondering. What is your favourite colour?" He seemed a bit surprised, but answered.

"Brown, why are you asking?" I wondered why his favourite colour was brown, and wondered if it was because of the same reason my favourite colour was green.

"Well, I just realised we barely know each other and I wanted to change that." He chuckled and nodded.

"You have a point. So, what is your favourite colour?" I knew he was going to ask this.

"Green, and what is your favourite movie?"

We spent the rest of the afternoon asking each other question. I had a lot of fun getting to know him, he turned out to be even more fantastic than I had imagined. When I told him I had to go home to cook for me and Alice, he asked if I wanted to have dinner with him, if it wouldn't burden Alice, of course. I happily accepted and called Alice.

"Hello Alice, it's me. I was wondering if you would mind eating alone tonight?" I asked, hoping she'd be okay with it.

"No, I wouldn't mind. Are you going out? With a guy? What is his name?" Alice immediately got in full dating-mode.

"Alice, relax. I ran into Edward in the park this afternoon and we are going to eat something together." I heard her squeal and she told me to hang up and have fun.

"Alice is fine with eating alone. So, where were you planning on going?" I asked him. He stood up, gave me a hand to help me stand up and thought for a moment.

"I know something, do you like Italian?" he asked me.

"I adore Italian," I told him smiling.

"Good," he told me and he took my hand as we started to walk towards the restaurant.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I tried not to get mad when the waitress started to flirt, very obviously, with Edward. But when Edward brushed it off, while staying polite, I couldn't help but smile at him. He smiled back and asked me if I was ready to order.

"Yes, I would like the mushroom ravioli." I said, turning to the waitress. She wrote it down and looked up to give me a slightly irritated look.

"I'll have the same," Edward said, cutting off her glare. She walked away.

"I hope she won't spit in my food," I told Edward. He chuckled and I laughed along with him. We continued our questioning and got hold up by the waitress as she brought our food. She smiled sweetly at Edward and glared at me when she thought he wasn't looking. I rolled my eyes and turned to Edward. He winked at me and looked at me until the waitress left. I was still wondering what happened with Tanya, but I thought it would be rude to ask. I got to know Edward a lot better this night, and I knew that if he was still together with Tanya, he wouldn't be sitting here with me. It kept bugging me the entire night that I didn't know what had happened. I wanted to know if she hurt him and if I was his rebound. Eventually Edward noticed that something was bugging me.

"It's nothing really. I was just wondering… If you… Well, I wanted to know what happened between you and Tanya." There, I said it.

"Oh, well. I can understand that you're curious, but it's not that interesting," he said. "I found out that Tanya cheated on me and I ended it. That's basically the entire story." I felt sorry for him, he didn't deserve to be cheated on. I couldn't understand Tanya would, _could_, do that to him.

"I'm sorry," I told him, though I was still hoping I wasn't his rebound. That would really suck, because I was starting to really like him and it would hurt if I was his rebound.

"It's ok, I was never really that close to Tanya." That brought some relief. If he had never been close to her, he wouldn't need me to get over her. I smiled at him and continued eating my desert.

I put on my coat as Edward paid the bill. I was willing to split the bill, but Edward refused, as it was the 'guy's job to pay'. He walked towards me and smiled. I started to wonder what for good thing I did to end up with such an amazing guy. When we were walking down the street, to my apartment, he wrapped his hand around mine. This small gesture made we warm on the inside and made me smile.

We were standing by my door, still talking. I noticed Alice looking at us through the window, she gave me the thumbs up.

"I had fun, Bella. I hope we can do this again." I smiled and suddenly remembered something.

"Me too. Have you heard of the party Dr Cullen and his wife are giving?" He nodded and understood what I meant.

"I would love to go with you," he said smiling. I nodded and kissed him on his cheek. "Goodnight Bella, sweet dreams," he whispered.

"Goodnight." I whispered back as he turned around and walked towards his car. I sighed and turned around, just as Alice yanked the door open. I knew she was about to squeal, so I quickly went inside and shut the door. Edward didn't need to hear Alice squealing about how hot he was.

"Oh my God! Bella, you did a good job! Is he nice? What did you do? Where did you eat?" Alice said, all in one breath.

"Alice, relax. I will tell you everything. Edward is very nice, actually, he's amazing. We had dinner at Bella Italia, it was delicious, although the waitress flirted with Edward," I ended, with a frown upon my face.

"How did he act when she did that?" Alice asked professional.

"Well, he didn't pay attention to her and kept looking at me." I told her, smiling about the way he acted.

"He's totally into you! We have to call Rosalie to celebrate this!" she screamed.

"I would love to celebrate this with Rosalie, but I'd rather do that tomorrow. I had a very long day and I would like to go sleep." I told her, hoping she wouldn't mind.

"That's all right, I completely understand," she winked. I rolled my eyes teasingly and went to my bedroom.

"Wake up, sleepy-head. You'll have to tell me and Alice everything about your day with the infamous Edward Cullen." I groaned and my eyes fluttered open. Rosalie stood there, grinning at me. I got up, not bothering to look in the mirror and fix my appearance, and sat on the couch in the living room. Alice and Rose sat down in front of me, looking expectantly at me. I sighed and started telling them about my day.

At some moments they would squeal, then they would sigh romantically. When I told them about Tanya, they both looked disgusted with her. I'm sure I looked the same. They were convinced he was the one, I a little less so. I hoped he was, but I didn't want get my hopes up and end up getting them crushed.

The party of Dr Cullen and his wife was getting closer, only four days left. Edward would pick me up that night and drive me to the party. He told me he was really looking forward to see me in my dress. I was also looking forward to seeing his reaction. Alice told me she would do my make-up that night and Rosalie would do my hair. I told her that I should buy some shoes to go with the dress, but she told me she had just the perfect shoes. My size, while Alice feet were a size smaller than me. I gave her a suspicious look, but she shrugged it off and gave me an innocent look. She gave me the shoes, silver peep-toes. They fit perfectly with my dress, another suspicious look, and I tried them on. Again, the fit perfectly. I didn't even bother to give Alice a suspicious look, she understood by now that I knew she bought them for me. I appreciated the trouble she went through for me, but I couldn't help but feel guilty she spent money on me. I knew she didn't mind though. She – with 'she' I meant her parents – had enough money.

Edward asked me to go somewhere with him the night before the party. He wanted to blindfold me, but decided not to when he saw my glare. He led me out the car and put his hand in front of my eyes.

When he took them away, I saw a dancing school in front of me. He couldn't be serious, I couldn't dance at all. I turned to him with a confused look.

"I understood that you thought you can't dance, so I thought we would take a dance lesson. Then we will be able to dance together tomorrow." I found it incredibly sweet that he wanted to help me to dance so I wouldn't be embarrassed tomorrow. We were put in a group, which wasn't that large, and introduced to a dancing instructor. She had a Spanish accent and looked very strict. She had black hair in a tight bun and red lipstick on. She showed us how to do certain moves and turned on the music. She told everyone to dance.

While we were dancing, she moved around and gave everyone some advice. The first few minutes were uncomfortable and difficult. I tried to get everything right and not hurt Edward. But after a few minutes he bent his head down to whisper in my ear.

"Don't be worried. Just let go, I'll lead," he promised. I did as he told me and started letting go. Soon it become easier and I began to have fun. As time passed, we started to get the hang of it and started concentrating on each other instead of the dance. It felt nice to have his arms around me, I felt protected. We were in close proximity and didn't have to speak loud to communicate. We were talking about what we expected tomorrow to be like.

Suddenly the music stopped and we both looked at the instructor. She told us that the lesson was over and that we could go home. I couldn't believe how fast the time had passed and I felt sad it was over. I had had a lot of fun dancing with Edward and I was glad I had the entire evening tomorrow to dance with him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The following morning, Alice decided to let me sleep in. When I had come home, I had spent the rest of the evening telling her everything about my date with Edward. She had been very happy for me and had hugged me. I had laughed and hugged her back. Then I remembered that she had had a date with Jasper that evening too and I asked her about it. She began telling me how amazing he was and how incredible the date was. I loved the fact that we all three had nice boyfriends now. Although Edward wasn't really my boyfriend, but I would like to consider him one. I should ask him that at the party. But since I went to sleep quite late, Alice wanted me to sleep in, because I needed to be fit at the party. And she didn't want me to have bags under my eyes.

At 11.00 am I woke up. The smell of pancakes filled my nose and I got up. As I walked into the kitchen, I saw Alice baking pancakes while humming softly.

"Good morning, is there any particular reason you're making pancakes?" I asked her chuckling.

"Good morning to you too, and no there isn't. I'm just in a good mood, because I'm looking forward to tonight." She made two plates and put one in front of me. I thanked her and started eating. They were delicious.

I offered to clean up and I told Alice to start getting ready for the party. I knew it was ridiculous to start getting ready so long before it actually begins, but I knew Alice and I knew she thought she needed the entire day. When we both put on our dresses, Alice started on my make-up. Rose would come in a few minutes, already dressed. She would do Alice's hair and make-up and Alice would do her hair and make-up. I didn't do anything, because I wasn't very good at any of that.

Only a few minutes later the doorbell rang.

"Come in!" Alice shouted, while she was finishing my make-up. Rose walked in, looking ridiculously stunning, and she dumped a huge bag which was filled with, I assumed, make-up and hair products. Alice just added the last bit of lip-gloss on my lips.

"Done," she said while smiling proudly. I looked in the mirror and gasped. She did an amazing job, the make-up was incredible. I turned around and hugged her. She seemed a bit surprised at first, but then relaxed into it.

"Watch the make-up!" she said, chuckling. I just laughed and let her go. Rose was looking at us, smiling. Alice and I both gave her a hug and then we continued getting ready. While Alice and Rose were doing each other's hair and make-up, I grabbed a camera and started taking pictures. The second they were done, Alice came towards me and grabbed the camera. She started taking pictures of me and Rose. We were all laughing and didn't notice Emmett walking in until he started laughing.

We immediately froze and from our awkward position, we saw Emmett looking at us holding his telephone, equipped with a camera, and just as we were about to get up, he took a picture. We gave him a glare and if it were any other night, we would've jumped on him and fight for the phone to delete the picture. But not tonight, because none of us wanted to ruin our appearance.

Emmett walked to Rose and Rose linked arms with him.

"Have fun, we'll see you tonight," he said to Alice and me. We watched them leave and sat down on the couch, waiting for our men. I just started complimenting Alice on the way she looked, as Jasper walked in. Alice jumped up and started telling him that he looked handsome. She turned around so she faced me.

"Bella, Edward will be here soon, I know he will. It's going to be a great evening and I'll see you there!" she said, while giving me a quick hug and leaving with Jasper.

I sighed and sat back down on the couch. I knew he would be here soon, but it was just a bit boring sitting here all alone. I realised Emmett and Jasper came quite early, so I shouldn't be surprised if Edward came a little later than them. I started picking up all the make-up that belonged to Rose and I put it in her bag. Just as I finished that and started cleaning up my bathroom, I heard a soft knock on my front-door. I stood up straight and give myself a quick once-over in the bathroom mirror. I still looked exactly like Alice and Rose left me and I walked to the front-door.

As I opened it, I was stunned to silence. Edward stood in front of me, looking extremely handsome. I drew in a breath and looked in his mesmerizing eyes. He looked at me as if he was just as stunned as I was.

"You look beautiful Bella." I blushed and looked down. He put his finger under my chin and tilted my head back up so I looked him in the eyes again. "Don't hide yourself," he whispered.

"You don't look that bad yourself either," I said teasingly. He smiled and offered his arm. I linked our arms and we walked to his car. While he opened the door for me, I heard Debussy coming from his car. I smiled, liking the fact that we both liked Clair de Lune, and sat down in the passenger seat.

"Do you know Dr Cullen or his wife?" I asked, as he started driving.

"No, but I've heard of them. They seem to be very kind," he told me.

"Yeah, I've heard the same. I'm quite curious, I'm really looking forward to meeting them."

He nodded, "Me too. I'm also looking forward to dancing with you." I groaned. Even after those dancing lessons, I was still not fully convinced that I wouldn't look ridiculous dancing there. "You'll do great," he said, while holding my hand.

"Could you please focus on the road, you're driving with one hand." He laughed and turned his head so he looked directly at the road.

We arrived at the house of Dr Cullen, which was huge. The drive was lighted with some candles. There were already a lot of cars parked across the street and around the drive. Their house, mansion, was surrounded by trees, so it looked like it was in the woods. The street was not far from the house, but far enough to be invisible if you were standing on the drive.

"Ready?" I heard Edward ask me. I nodded and got out of the car when I noticed that Edward opened the door for me. We rang the doorbell and were welcomed by two people who I assumed were Dr Cullen and his wife.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

We introduced ourselves and found out that they were in fact Dr Cullen and Esme, his wife. Dr Cullen, who asked us to call him Carlisle, looked very young, but just a bit older than Esme. He had blonde hair and blue eyes and he was quite tall. He had a kind smile and invited us in.

Esme was just a bit smaller than I and had wavy, caramel coloured hair. She looked very kind and had a motherly feeling about her. We walked into the house and I was shocked by the number of people and the space. It looked like this was just the living room, but it was very big. In the corner was a table full of drinks and food, and on the left side of the room was a huge music installation. I quickly spotted Alice and Jasper. They were dancing together and I saw Alice scanning the room. She was probably looking for Rose or me. I looked at Edward and, when we had eye-contact, I pointed towards Alice and Jasper. He nodded and we made our way through the crowd.

As soon as Alice spotted us, she waved and said something to Jasper.

"Where are Rose and Emmett?" I asked them as soon as we were close enough for them to hear us.

"They are dancing together somewhere between all these people," Jasper told me. I strained my neck so I could look over the crowd and spotted Emmett – it was hard not to. I looked back at Alice and saw Edward and Jasper talking to each other. I was happy that Jasper and Edward seemed to get along.

While I had been looking for Emmett and Rose, Edward had took my hand and he was still holding it. Alice noticed and gave me a knowing smile. I just rolled my eyes and smiled at her. A few songs later, a slower song came on and Edward ended his talk with Jasper.

"May I have this dance?" he asked politely. I nodded and took his hand. He led me to the middle of the dance area, even though I protested. I saw Alice and Jasper do the same and they took place next to us. We started dancing like we did during the begin of the dancing lesson, but after a while we let go and started having fun. A few times I would catch the looks of Alice and Rose, who looked a bit surprised that I could dance like this. I just smiled at them and continued enjoying the evening with Edward. Every time I laughed because I had such fun, Edward gave me a look which made me melt in his arms.

After dancing for a long time, we both decided it was enough dancing for now. He gave me some water and drank some himself too.

"I didn't know you could dance!" I heard Rose shout in my ear.

"Edward took me to a dance lesson yesterday," I explained. She nodded and grabbed something to drink herself. I heard Emmett's booming laugh before I saw him.

"You were dancing amazing up there, Bells. I think every man here was looking at you." I shrugged his teasing off and smiled at everyone, Alice and Jasper had joined us too.

"Isn't it lovely that you all are having so much fun with dancing," I heard someone say behind me. I turned around and saw Esme looking at us, with Carlisle behind her talking to someone I didn't know.

"Thank you for inviting us, it's an amazing party. We're all having a lot of fun," Alice said, while we were all nodding in agreement.

"That's great. Would you like something to eat?" Esme was the perfect host.

"Of course!" Emmett said, which was to be expected. A few of us nodded because we hadn't eaten anything in a couple of hours.

"Esme, could I help you?" I asked her politely.

"That would be great, dear." We walked to the kitchen, while I was complimenting her party. When we arrived at the kitchen, she asked me to fill some glasses with different kind of refreshments. While I was doing that, she prepared some more snacks.

"You have some very nice friends," she told me.

"Yes, they are fantastic," I agreed.

"And that young man you arrived with seemed very nice. I think he likes you a lot." She smiled at me and continued making snacks.

"I hope he does," I said with a frown.

"I know he does," she reassured me. I smiled at her and put all the drinks on a tray. I tried balancing the plate on one hand and open the door with another. It reminded me of when I first met Edward. On cue, he walked in and saw me struggling, so he opened the door for me. I caught Esme's eye and she gave a knowing look. I just shrugged and walked into the crowd.

Before I reached the table for the food and drinks, half of my tray was already empty. While I had been walking alongside Edward to the table, people had been reaching out so they could grab a drink of the tray. I put the remainder on the table and turned around so I faced Edward. He smiled and took my hand, I instinctively smiled back at him.

"Would you care to join me on a walk outside?" I nodded at him and we began walking to the backdoor.

"Where are you two sneaking off?" I heard Alice's voice behind me. I only turned my head, but from what I saw, she was surrounded by the rest of our friends. We both completely turned around and looked a bit guilty at everyone.

"We were just going for a walk," Edward tried to explain.

"Without telling us? Is that how things are going to get?" I knew Alice was teasing, but I wasn't sure Edward knew.

"No, but…" Edward started, but I cut him off, "Well, Alice, I think you don't tell us everything either. You remember that time when we went to that bar together and you ordered a lot of drinks… You began to…" Alice eyes went wide and she looked around frantically.

"...ask to go home. Yes, I remember. So you were about to go for a walk, have fun, I'm going to dance some more." Alice immediately disappeared in the crowd. Everyone, except for me, looked either curiously at me or at the place Alice just disappeared in the crowd.

"We're going for that walk." I grabbed Edward's hand and waved at everyone with my other hand, and we went outside. The pale moon shone through the long, thin branches of the trees. A soft breeze blew my hair in different directions and made me shiver. Edward noticed and put his arm around me.

Carlisle and Esme had a beautiful and huge garden. A pool was hidden by the shadows of the trees in their garden.

"Bella, there was something I wanted to ask you." He talked softly, as if he didn't want to ruin the peaceful feeling of the garden. I pointed to a bench beneath a big tree and looked at him. He just nodded and we sat down on that bench. He looked me in the eyes for a minute, looking for something. My heart was beating faster and faster. I almost couldn't control my curiosity. He opened his mouth and began talking.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"We haven't been together for long, but I already feel a strong connection with you. And my question is, will you be my girlfriend?" Towards the end, he had started talking faster, because he was nervous. I almost couldn't believe he asked me this, how long hadn't I wished for this.

"Yes, yes I will be you girlfriend," I said with a huge smile on my face. He smiled his crooked smile. His smile slowly disappeared and a look of lust formed in his eyes. I saw his eyes moving to look at my lips and I looked at his. We both leaned forward unconsciously. Our lips almost touched and my eyes closed.

"Bella! Where are you? It's time to go!" Rose's voice filled the silence. I sighed and leaned backwards. Edward looked disappointed, as I was sure I looked too, and stood up. He helped me up and we walked to Rose who stood with her hands on her hips. When she saw us coming, holding hands and looking a bit disappointed still, her smile changed into a guilty look. I gave her a reassuring smile and the three of us walked inside.

I was surprised to see that everyone had left, had we been outside for that long? Alice and Jasper were dancing together in the empty living room, while Esme was looking at them with a delighted look on her face. Carlise came out of the kitchen and, without her noticing it, went to stand behind her. Suddenly he bent his head down and whispered something in her ear. He startled her a bit, but she quickly recovered and nodded at him. He took her hand and they began dancing together.

Esme had a huge smile on her face and Carlisle looked lovingly at her. Suddenly I was in Edward's arms and we started, just as Rose and Emmett, dancing too. We all stayed dancing there for another hour, changing partners all the time. It was the most fun I ever had and I didn't want to return home, but it started to get really late and I noticed Esme getting tired. Alice had noticed too and we gathered everyone.

"I had a lot fun Esme," and "This was an amazing party Carlisle," and other compliments like that flowed out of our mouths.

During the ride home, Edward and I talked about the party. We held hands and every now and then, he would lift my hand to his lips and kiss it. Every time an involuntarily smile would spread across my face.

When we arrived at my apartment, I saw that Alice was already home. Edward walked me to my door. We both didn't know what to do, but slowly I got mesmerized by his eyes and began to lean forward. I knew that there was a chance that Alice would interrupt us, just like Rose had done, but I decided to just take the chance. My eyes closed and I felt his presence. I felt his soft lips on mine, very gentle. After only a few moments, we both leaned back and smiled at each other.

"Goodnight," he whispered and he walked away. I watched him walk away, until I heard the door open and felt an arm pull me inside.

"Ok, spill. You have to tell me everything," Alice told urgently.

"All right, I'll start with the walk." Alice told me to wait and she went to the kitchen. When she came back, she put two drinks on the table and we both sat down. "Well, as you know we went for a walk in Carlisle and Esme's garden. After you let us leave..."

She cut me off, "Yes, and you had no right to talk about that one evening!" I knew she wasn't really that mad, but I apologized anyway.

"The garden was perfect, and we sat down on a bench underneath a tree. He looked a bit nervous, but eventually asked me what he wanted to ask me. He asked me to be his girlfriend." Alice squealed in my ear and I shrunk away. After she was done with squealing, she urged me on to tell her what happened when we were standing in front of the door.

"He walked me to the door and then we kissed; a simple, short but amazing kiss." She started squealing again, and I took the opportunity and walked to my bedroom. After showering and brushing my teeth, I got in bed and fell asleep immediately.

The next morning I woke up from the sunlight shining through my window. I vaguely remembered my dream, it was about Edward. I got up and decided making break-fast for Alice. While making different kinds of food, Alice walked into the kitchen. Until then, I didn't realise I had been humming.

"Good morning, Miss Sunshine, did you have nice dreams about Edward?" she teased.

"Actually I had, how did you know?" She laughed and sat down at the bar. "Did I sleep-talk again and did you hear it?" I hated the fact that I talked in my sleep, but I couldn't help it.

"It was hard not to. You woke me up with your detailed description of Edward." I blushed and put the food on two plates.

Rose, Emmett and Jasper came by later that day. Edward couldn't come, because his parents were redecorating the house and asked Edward to help. We all did some games and watched movies. When it was late and the last movie ended, I saw everyone, except for Jasper, asleep. Rosalie lay half on top of Emmett and Alice lied with her head on Jasper's shoulder. I wished Edward was here, but I decided to just fall asleep alone. Jasper gave me an apologetic smile.

I got up and went to get some blankets from my bedroom. Jasper offered to help, but I ordered him to stay where he was, so Alice wouldn't wake up. After giving everyone a blanket and lying down with one myself on the couch, I looked around the room and admired the amazing friends I had.

When I woke up, my back hurt a lot. Sleeping on the couch wasn't such a good idea. Everyone else was still asleep and I decided to let them sleep. I got dressed and decided to go to the park, to the place Edward and I met. I put a note on the dining table and, after seeing that Alice had kicked her blanket off in her sleep, put Alice's blanket back on Alice's small body, which was curled against Jasper.

"Where are you going?" I heard someone whisper. I turned around and saw Emmett looking at me with a confused look.

"I'm just going to the park, why don't you just go sleep some more?" He wanted to say something, but his eyes closed involuntarily and soon I heard him snore.

Just as I stepped outside, a cold breeze blew past and I shivered. I went back inside and grabbed a scarf, which I put around my neck tightly. My hands went in the pockets of my coat and I began to make my way to the park. The sky was filled with thin clouds, which promised a sunny afternoon. Some sun did break through the clouds and made it just a bit warmer.

I walked past a bakery, which was just being opened. A lovely lady in her mid-forties smiled at me and went back inside her shop. I heard my stomach grumble and decided to buy something at the bakery with the money I found in my coat pockets. As soon as I walked in, I was met by an aroma of freshly baked bread. After looking at the fresh pastries, I chose a cinnamon roll. I paid and had a small conversation with the girl behind the cash desk, after which I returned outside. I arrived at the park and looked around, but what I saw made my heart stop.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

There, near a small lake, stood Edward talking to Tanya. She looked a bit annoyed and looked around. Then she looked at him again and leaned in so she could kiss him. I did the first thing that came to mind and ran away. I faintly heard him call my name, but I ignored it ran home, past the bakery. The lady waved, but I didn't have the time or the mood to wave back.

When I rounded a corner, I almost tripped over a loose tile, but someone walked by and caught me. I hastily thanked him and started running again. When I came home, the key got stuck in the lock. I yanked it out and tried again, but in my haste I let in drop. I internally cursed the key and tried again, this time it worked. I opened the door and saw nobody inside, and I heard no one. Just as I was about to walk in, a strong hand grabbed my arm, to prevent me from walking in. I turned my head around and gave Edward a glare. The look of hurt and deep sadness made me lessen my glare for a second, but then I remembered what I saw and I gave him another cold look.

"Bella, please. Let me explain, you have to know what really happened." I almost couldn't resist him, but I did and I yanked my arm from his grip. He hadn't hurt me, but I still didn't like the idea of him trying to stop me by grabbing my arm.

"I know what happened." Suddenly my madness turned into sadness. "You just like Tanya better and decided to give it a go with her again, two days after asking me to be your girlfriend."

"No! That's not what happened. You've got to listen to me, please." I shook my head and walked inside, closing the door behind me.

The rest of the day I spend crying in my room, eating chocolate ice cream. Alice told me through a note that she was going to spent the day with Jasper and sleep at his apartment. I was grateful for that, she didn't need to see me like this. After I closed the door in Edward's face, he had stayed there, knocking every once in a while, begging me to open the door and listen to his explanation. I refused to do that, I didn't want to know why he chose to be with her or listen to him making excuses. I know what I saw, I think. My resolve started to waver, my mind came up with logic explanations for what I saw and I started thinking about Edward. I thought I knew him, and that he would never do something like this. But I stayed stubborn and didn't return his calls. I was so exhausted, I eventually fell asleep.

"Bella!" I heard Alice's voice in the living room. I turned around in my bed and looked at my digital clock, 6.00 am, what was she doing here so early? Wasn't she supposed to be at Jasper?

"Bella!" This time her voice sounded closer, and my bedroom door opened. "Do you know who I ran into just a few minutes ago?" _Don't say Edward, don't say Edward_, I pleaded. "Edward!" She screamed. "And he didn't look happy, but he didn't want to tell me why. He thought you wouldn't appreciate that and that he let you choose." I groaned, hearing he was still being the perfect gentleman.

"There's a perfectly good explanation for all of this, Alice" I said, my voice thick with sleep. I cleared my throat. "I saw Edward kissing someone else." Well, that wasn't exactly true, but it would do for present.

"What? Are you sure? He is not the kind the person that would do that and he likes you a lot."

I sighed, "I'm completely sure. Yesterday morning I woke up and found you all asleep, and I decided to go to the park. There I saw Edward with Tanya, the girl he was with before me, and she kissed him." I hoped she wouldn't notice the difference.

"She kissed him? I knew he wouldn't do something like this. Bella, I think you should listen to him. You don't really think that Edward would kiss someone else while he is with you, do you? He likes you so much, and I'm sure he doesn't like Tanya at all!" I got up and pushed her out of my room and closed the door. "Bella, open the door. I'm just trying to help!" I leaned against the door and dropped to the floor.

"I know you are Alice, I just have to think about all of this for a while." I heard her sigh and I knew she rolled her eyes.

"And how long is 'a while'?" I got up and made my bed.

"No idea Alice, not long I suppose." I didn't hear a response, so I assumed she just went back to bed, tired of my stubbornness.

After visiting Mr Brown and buying some books, I went to Rose.

"Hi Bella, how are you doing?" she asked it casually, but there was a sympathetic undertone and her eyes showed pity.

I sighed, "Not you too."

She feigned innocence, "What? Can't a friend ask another friend how she is doing?" I smiled at her and we both walked inside.

"Is Emmett here?" Rose got a bit of a weary look in her eyes.

"No, he is with Jasper." I wondered what was so bad about that, but then I realised they were probably visiting Edward.

"It's ok Rose, really. And if you're wondering, I think I'm going to let him give his explanation. That would be the fair thing to do, he deserves that." She smiled in agreement and gave me a cup of coffee.

"What do you think he's going to say?" She still sounded a bit weary, probably afraid to hurt me.

"I have no idea, but I'll manage, whatever he is going to say."

"You seem so fine about this, I would totally freak out."

I laughed, "I had an entire day to do that, and then I started thinking rationally. I really like him and even if this was just a slip up, I might even forgive him. Would this really be worth it to give up on our relationship? I didn't think so. But of course I'd rather have that he would tell me that he doesn't like her at all." She nodded and considered my view on this.

"I think you're right," was all she said. After talking about different things – she seemed to want to take my mind of things – I left and walked around a bit again. I hoped everything was going to be fine with Edward, I had a hard time coping without him. It seemed as though my body needed Edward both physically as mentally. I didn't feel good without him around me. Every step I set, I wanted to go to him more badly. Eventually I gave in and turned around, and went to his house.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

I rang his bell and fiddled with my hands. I had no idea how he would react, and my nerves were all over the place. The door opened, my heart-rate was getting faster, and I saw a woman standing in the door opening. She looked genuinely surprised to see me, but still gave me a kind smile. I assumed this was Edward's mother, she had the same rare bronze coloured hair and sparkling green eyes, only hers were a bit darker.

"I'm Bella, I actually came here for Edward." When I said my name, understanding crossed her face and she stook out her hand for me to shake.

"Pleasure to meet you Bella. I'm Elizabeth Masen, Edward's mother. I've heard so much about you." It was a relief that his mother was so kind, and a bit of a surprise that Edward had talked so much about me at home.

"I'll go get Edward for you, one moment." I nodded and cleared my throat as she got up the stairs. My palms were getting sweaty and the nervous feeling in my stomach got worse.

Edward descended the stairs, looking as amazing as always, but he looked tired and his liveliness was gone. When he saw me, his eyes got big and he rushed towards me.

"Bella," he whispered while taking both my hands in his.

"Hey," I whispered back.

"I'm so sorry Bella, but it's not what you think," he said hastily.

"Edward, why won't we go inside and you explain. It's all right, I'll listen," I told him reassuringly. He nodded and led me to the couch in the living-room. From the corner of my eye, I saw Elizabeth rush up-stair, not wanting to disturb us.

"I'll start from the beginning. I was on my way to your apartment, wanting to surprise you and take you out for a drink. When I was walking through the park, I came across Tanya. She came out of now where and surprised me. She apologized for cheating on me and asked me to get back together with her, but I declined. She was annoyed and suddenly kissed me, trying to convince me otherwise. But I pushed her off me and then I saw you running away." In the end he almost had tears in his eyes. I took his face in my hands and kissed him. He was surprised at first, but relaxed into it and kissed me back.

When I let go, I whispered, "I love you." I even surprised myself, I wasn't planning on telling him that, because I didn't even know it myself. I knew I really liked him, but I didn't know I loved him. But when I said it, it felt so right and I didn't regret it. Except I was afraid that Edward found it too soon and would dump me. I was just about to tell him not to worry if he didn't love me, when he said the most fantastic words.

"I love you too." We only knew each other for one month, but it felt so right. We kissed again and sat on the couch for a while, not saying anything, because that wasn't necessary. It was as if we both had enough with just each other's presence. Eventually I had to leave, because Alice would be home by now and she would burst with curiosity if she wouldn't find out what happened soon. We agreed upon going out with the six of us next evening, if everyone was available. It was hard leaving him after just finding out we both loved each other, but I wanted to share this with Alice.

As I walked onto the parking-lot, Alice came out of our apartment and she dragged me inside.

"You'll have to tell me and Rose right now!" she told me as we walked in, Rose nodding from the couch. I smiled, knowing they would be happy once I told them.

"I walked to Edward's house," they were smiling so wide, I had a feeling it hurt, "and his mother opened the door. I introduced myself and she told me she had heard a lot about me. Then she got Edward, who was very surprised to see me. I suggested that we would sit down and I would listen to him explaining.

"So he started explaining that he was on his way to my house and ran into Tanya, who asked him to get back together with him. When he declined, she kissed him. He pushed her away and saw me running away." They were both listening intently the entire time, and now they erupted in loud squeals.

"I knew it!" Alice screamed. I watched them smiling.

"There's more," I interrupted them. They were silent immediately, "When he had explained, I kissed him and told him I love him, and he told me he loves me too!" This time I squealed along, and Rose and Alice both hugged me.

"So we thought that we could all go out together tomorrow night?" I asked them. They agreed and called Emmett and Jasper. I had a feeling tonight and tomorrow night were going to be fun.

The rest of that evening we watched romantic movies. I fell asleep during a movie. When I woke up again later that night, I felt someone put a blanket over me. Before I fell asleep again, I heard some voices whisper, "She looks so happy" and "Yeah, she deserved this."

We all agreed to go to a fancy restaurant in another town and we would drive with Emmett's car. He had a huge Jeep, which was the only car we could all fit in. The whole drive to the restaurant, Edward held my hand and we would exchange glances and short kisses every now and then.

"Come on guys, stop it all ready! You're ruining my appetite" Emmett whined from the driver's seat. I just laughed and felt Edward give my hand a gentle squeeze.

The waitress at the restaurant was a bit surprised to see three handsome men walk in and she was ready to flirt with them, when she noticed us three giving her a glare. After she took our orders and quickly walked away, Alice, Rose and I started laughing. The boys looked confused, but let it go.

The evening was a lot of fun. Somehow Emmett got spaghetti in his hair. Edward kept giving me loving glances and sometimes we would exchange a 'I love you'. It felt fantastic to be in love and I wanted to enjoy it as much as possible.

Alice noticed and she gave me a smile and whispered, "You deserve this". I smiled back at her and looked around the table. Everyone was interacting with each other and having fun, I felt blessed to have these friends.

**The End**


End file.
